Abstract

In a previous article (see [3]) a system of axioms is proposed stating conditions which are necessary and sufficient to determine a cardinal utility function on any set, finite or infinite, of outcomes X. The present paper discusses and interprets the meaning of those axioms, and compares this new approach to cardinal utility with the utility differences approach proposed by Alt and Frisch, among others, and with the expected utility approach of von-Neuman and Morgenstern. The notion of repetition of the same choice situation is presented and its interpretation discussed. It is then argued that this notion leads naturally to the system of axioms presented in ‘On Cardinal Utility’. It is also argued that this notion must be used if we want to have a more clear understanding of the meaning of the axioms proposed by Alt and Frisch. Finally, it is remarked that since uncertainty is not present in the new approach, it is free of the paradoxes that have plagued the expected utility hypothesis.